Since its founding in 1967, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has been widely known by its simple and direct mission statement: Save the Bay™.
CBF’s staff of 170 includes scientists, policy experts, attorneys, educators, and grassroots organizers. They pursue our goal through environmental advocacy, litigation, environmental education, strategic communications, and habitat restoration throughout the Bay watershed. We inform and engage the public, the private sector, elected officials, and government employees to demand that the tough political decisions and adequate public and private investments be made to save the Bay.
In our forty-six year history, we have achieved significant milestones to arrest the Bay system’s decline and to begin to restore its health. From the landmark EPA study of the Chesapeake Bay in the 1970s to the first interstate Chesapeake Bay Agreement in 1983 to Maryland’s historic sewage treatment bond bill in the 2004 and the reauthorization of the federal farm bill that includes dedicated funding to help farmers clean up the Bay, CBF has indeed been saving the Bay.
CBF works to inform and engage the public to demand that the tough political decisions and adequate public and private investments are made to save the Bay. Though we are tough on fighting pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, we also enjoy a relaxed work environment in an exceptionally beautiful setting.
Our headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland, the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, is one of the greenest buildings in the world, made entirely from recyclable and renewable materials. Warm bamboo flooring, exposed beams, and an entire wall of glass windows that overlook a sandy beach on the Chesapeake Bay provide a soothing work atmosphere. Kayaking, biking, and nature hiking are just a few of the activities available to staff. CBF also provides a locker room with showers, onsite lunches to reduce the need to drive elsewhere, and incentives for hybrid car owners.
CBF does not discriminate, treating its employees with the same care and respect as our non-two-legged friends in nature. We are equally concerned about the environment and our workplace, and strive to create harmony between the two.
Photo of diamondback terrapin by CBF staff.